Spending

I am really having a hard time with a situation I put myself into. A few weeks ago tickets went on sale for Tim McGraw in Spokane where I live. I got really excited when I was online buying (2) tickets (ok'd by the wife) and bought (4). Figured I would make a little money re-selling (2) of them. So far no luck and there are plenty of tickets still available. Today Brooks & Dunn Spokane went on sale and I went online to buy (2) and ended up buying (4) as they were really good seats. For fun I went back in to see what was still left and the computer gave me (4) tickets on the FLOOR which is pretty hard to get. So once again I hit purchase. And once again there are still plenty of tickets available. Now I have $900 of tickets and (2) people going to each concert. What if I can't sell them??? Crap!!! I have not done anything risky like this for a while (Bipolar 1). I do have the money to pay for them but I am so very mad at myself. I didn't even get a rush when I was buying them so I fell really ripped off. It was like I was not in control and out of my body. Can anyone relate?????????

I have never spent excessively or impulsively but do you think this is a bad sign for you? Are you on meds... maybe you need an increase or change? Of course excessive/impulsive spending is a HUGE warning sign with bipolar disorder. I don't know if this is behavior you typically see when you're about to cycle but I would stay tuned and call your doc if things go down hill. I wish you lots of luck and hopefully you get things back under control.

I'm in a similar boat at the moment. I've spent $400-500 on clothing in two days. I usually won't spend more than $5 on a top; $20 on pants. But I got a pair of pants that are $90! I had a plan to get a blouse as I needed one for work... now I have so many pants, skirts, more blouses.... Luckily, I don't own a credit card so I did have the money to pay for it all but I'm suppose to be saving. Gah! I guess the plus side is my new things make me feel pretty, heh.

I am doing okay right now but one time I bought a new car (my current one was only one year old) because I HAD to have leather seats. The car I bought was the same model only one year newer with leather seats and a different color. Yes, hypomania uses up the money! Sounds like me... I always fix on one thing that I buy in excess -- 20 knit, v-neck long sleeve shirts in one week.

When I'm depressed I don't spend a penny. I can carry a $20 around for months and never spend it. Then I'll have a good day and feel great and I spend the money and buy books on line that I don't even need... I always feel sick afterwards. I did buy a Sony Touch Reader and it was over $300 and knew I shouldn't do it - but I couldn't control myself. Knowing I shouldn't do it I bought it. Once it got here I felt too guilty for days to even open it. I almost dread when I have good days. But I did do good this week - I felt great all week and didn't spend anything. But I feel myself sliding back into depression - can't sleep, can't eat, and my mind keeps wandering and I can't consintrate on anything.
Why do we do this... why....

When I have been feeling good, I bought a 1100.00 made to measure suit. I went out shopping for a Jaguar. When I feel good money does not mean a thing. However when my mood is down I will not spend a dime without thinking hard about it.
For me these types of episodes occur when I am not medicated enough. Of course being on the medications to prevent these types of episodes is of no pleasure.

You have to weigh the pros and cons, and for me that means being well medicated.

I don't enjoy thinking about excessive spending. For example, I had LASIK done, and I could have just spent $599/eye, but instead I got the premium package (which is good for life) for $3,800.

Every month I make a budget, then totally blow it.

a couple years ago I was having a flair with my crohn's disease. I had been seeing a psychiatrist for years with a dx of recurrent major unipolar depression. their is a history of bipolar and alcoholism in my family. anyway, I was put on 90 mgs. of prednisone for 8 weeks,nd got higher than a kite--but no psychosis presented. I impulsively purchased over $70,000.00 worth of jewelry from the jewelry channel over a period of two months. I knew I shouldn't do this at the time, but I love Tanzanite, and I thought I should purchase it and other gems as an investment, and to give for gifts. Now, over the last two weeks I have had rapid mood swings, insomnia, periods of deep depression and sobbing--all of which I think is regular bi-polar. I have been medication compliant all along, and took some extra ativan to calm myself down, as I was stressed with a health insurance hassle.
Soooooo- I guess I have regular bi-polar, as now I am experiencing these mixed episodes. What do you think out there? I see my psychiatrist tomorrow. always, steck

I was spending huge amounts of money on cars...not because they are pricey, but because every time you sell a car, especially after owning it for a short time, you lose a lot of money on it. From 2004 - 2007, I went through 6 cars...losing money on each one, except for one which was totaled in a high-speed rollover crash. If I were to sell my current car, I'd owe a huge amount of money to pay off the rest of the loan, due to previous debt being rolled into each subsequent loan. When I realized that I was spending too much due to BP, and that I absolutely had to stick with my current car for a long time... I became really depressed. i went into one of my worst depressions ever. It was so hard to accept it. I've done the same thing with guitars, but the financial impact of those impulsive decisions are far less. Unless you're buying PRS guitars. However, unlike cars, guitars do not depreciate very much. I do it with music all the time. If I like an artist, I must have their entire catalog...everything they've ever done. And even if the new albums they churn out are just *****, I buy them anyway.

I did the same with video games. I'd see one that looked really good to play, buy it and not like it, only to see another I thought would be really good. So I'd get that one.....and so on and so on......$800 dollars later and I never did find one that satisfied my craving for good gaming. When I took them back for exchange I got about a tenth of what I bought them for and ended up buying another game that was still no good to me. I'm still struggling with issues like that....it's so hard not to fall into behavior like that before I realize what I'm doing. The Psych does help me see when I'm about to go down that path..............Good Luck...Y